Iowa Republicans Call for Joe Biden to Resign as President

Within minutes of President Joe Biden announcing he would drop his candidacy for a second term as president, Republicans in Iowa were calling for him to resign.

Biden’s announcement that he will not seek re-election comes amid mounting pressure from Democrats to force him to withdraw from the race following his disastrous debate performance against former President Donald Trump last month.

Biden released a statement on social media at 12:46 p.m. Sunday, saying, “It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your president.”

“While it was my intention to seek re-election, I believe it is in the best interests of my party and the country that I step down and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term,” he said in his statement.

Many of Iowa’s top Republicans quickly responded, calling for Biden’s resignation.

“It doesn’t matter who the Democrats nominate to replace Joe Biden on the ticket — they all represent the same failed policies of the last 4 years — especially Kamala Harris,” Gov. Kim Reynolds said on social media. “Donald Trump will be our next president. Until then, if Joe Biden is unable to run for re-election, it’s clear he is unfit to run this country.”

Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, who represents the 2nd District of northeastern Iowa, was quick to say Biden should resign.

“It was wrong for Biden, his advisors, and the media to cover up his decline and manipulate Americans,” she wrote on social media. “If Biden is not fit to run, he is not fit to serve as president. He should resign. I have confidence that President Trump will defeat Kamala Harris or any other radical leftist party they can muster against him.”

Hinson followed up the message with a second message ridiculing Democrats for “fear mongering” and saying Trump is a threat to American democracy.

“Now the Democratic elites will hand-pick the Democratic presidential nominee instead of having them go through a primary,” she wrote. “Talk about disenfranchising voters!”

More: As Joe Biden ends his re-election bid, Democrats in Iowa react with a mixture of relief and sadness

The Iowa Republican Party also released a statement calling for Biden’s resignation.

“Our sitting president has just admitted to the world that he is unfit to govern,” the statement said. “With the Democrats running the largest cover-up in history, America is now in an extremely dangerous position. Biden is not mentally and physically fit to serve a second term. He should resign immediately.”

The statement accused Democrats of throwing democracy into chaos “by pushing Biden out of the race.”

“They just disenfranchised all the voters who supported Biden, and now they are trying to handpick their next nominee,” the statement said.

US Congressman Zach Nunn, who represents the 3rd congressional district in central Iowa, said Biden’s statement announcing his withdrawal from the race was “the worst policy ever.”

“Biden and Democrats have covered up his decline for years and forced him out when it became politically expedient,” he wrote on social media. “If Biden is not fit to run, he is not fit to continue serving as commander in chief. He should resign.”

U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who represents the 1st District of southeastern Iowa, also issued a statement calling on the president to resign. She said Democrats had “robbed millions of voters in the primary while covering up the president’s cognitive decline.”

Her statement concluded: “If President Biden is not fit to campaign, he is not capable of retaining the nuclear codes. He should resign.”

Not all Iowa Republicans directly or openly called for Biden’s resignation on Sunday.

U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, who represents the 4th District in western Iowa, called the president “unfit for office” in a statement on social media.

“It is clear that Joe Biden is unfit for office. Biden and the Democrats have caused record inflation and left our border wide open,” Feenstra said in the statement. “President Trump will defeat whoever the Democrats nominate because their track record is all the same and bad for America.”

Attorney General Brenna Bird said on social media that “Democrats have destroyed this country over the last four years.”

“And regardless of who they replace Biden with, they all need to acknowledge their failed past,” she said. “They all still represent the same extremist agenda that created massive illegal immigration, skyrocketing inflation, and a woke green scam. And now they have single-handedly dismantled our primary system. No matter what their next political ploy is, Americans see the truth. And President Donald Trump will win in November!”

U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley said on social media that people are “sick and tired” of Biden’s policies and that a change of candidates would not help Democrats.

“The American people are tired of Biden-Harris’ open borders + high cost of living crushing family budgets,” Grassley said. “A candidate change fools no one. Switching horses mid-term isn’t going to stop the bad policies + reckless agenda at the top of the Democratic ticket.”

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.